Argentina property bill protest leaves at least 3 hurt

At least two police officers and one protester were injured as thousands of people protested outside the Argentine Senate on Thursday against a private property bill, according to Argentine media and AFP footage.

The protest in Buenos Aires turned into clashes at nightfall on Congress Square. Some protesters threw stones and other objects at police, and security forces responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannon and other projectiles.

Some Argentine media reported 10 arrests, but authorities had not initially confirmed the figure. Police cleared Congress Square after about two hours of sporadic clashes and standoffs, although a handful of people remained.

Earlier, thousands of demonstrators had gathered without incident despite a large police presence, wind and rain. The protest was mobilized by left-wing movements and unions. Demonstrators carried Argentine flags and banners reading “The homeland is not for sale,” an AFP correspondent observed.

The “Inviolability of Private Property” bill being debated in Congress would change property ownership rules in Argentina. Its measures include streamlining eviction procedures, changing rural land use rules and making it more difficult for the state to take ownership of private property.

The government of libertarian President Javier Milei says the bill is intended to provide a legal framework that attracts investment. Opposition and environmental groups oppose it, warning of a risk of “colonization, fragmentation, fracture and balkanization of the homeland.”

Milei's party, which has 20 seats in the 72-member Senate, removed a chapter that would have made it easier for foreigners or foreign entities to buy land in Argentina. That provision would have raised the limit on land available for foreign purchase from 15 percent to 25 percent.

A 2025 report from the University of Buenos Aires and other researchers said nearly 5 percent of Argentina's territory, an area roughly equal in size to England, is under foreign ownership. The researchers said foreign ownership already exceeds the 15 percent limit in some districts, especially areas with water and mineral resources or logistical advantages such as ports.